Opinion (171)

Recently, the Associated Press (AP) published an article the Reno paper ran with the headline, “Judge orders women to leave house.”

Last year, real estate investment group Wedgewood, Inc., bought an Oakland three-bedroom house in foreclosure for $501,000. In November, before Wedgewood could take legal possession, three homeless women and their children, calling themselves Moms 4 Housing, illegally moved in.

The squatters refuse to leave, so Wedgewood asked a California court to direct the local sheriff to evict them. The judge did so, giving them five days to leave.

An attorney helping them said, “We understand that the court’s hands are tied because in this country property fights are valued over human rights.”

One of the women, Dominque Walker, 34 and the mother of 1- and 5-year-old daughters, added, “Housing is a human right. I pay bills there. I pay water, PG&E, internet. We live there.”

So, if they claim housing is a human right, they have a right to seize someone’s property. And their lawyer posits a false distinction between sacred human rights and grubby property rights, and then falsely claims the courts value property rights over human rights.

Walker also said, “We want to purchase the home … it needs to belong back in the hands of the community.” And, “It was stolen through the foreclosure crisis.”

AP adds, the women say they moved into the house partly to protest the methods of speculators who snap up distressed homes and leave them empty despite the housing crisis. While Walker says “we” are the community and want to purchase the house, AP clarifies that they want Wedgewood to sell the property to a nonprofit land trust (that presumably would let them continue to live there).

But they moved in before Wedgewood could even take possession of the house. So, obviously Wedgewood isn’t the party that left the house empty. Lest one think perhaps the women merely chose the wrong house for their protest, Walker adds the ignorant and malicious lie that Wedgewood stole it.

Moving beyond technicalities, the real points here are the false distinction between human and property rights and the claim that property rights are wrongly favored. Plus the implication that wrapping oneself in the flag of human rights permits one to do anything and wrong anybody, especially corporations, to secure those human rights.

In this case, all one needs to do to justify seizures or other aggressive actions is claim to be a victim, even of mere misfortune, and allege the other party is culpable, even for doing reasonable and socially beneficial things like buying a house in foreclosure.

Asserting a “human right” to housing confers on someone an obligation to provide housing at that someone’s expense. That’s so obviously wrong and predatory that the kleptos and their ideologue supporters always demonize the real victims to make the theft or other aggressive action seem justified. Ergo, the lie that Wedgewood stole the house.

Perhaps the women come from a culture that taught them nothing of how the world really works: via invention, innovation, work, savings and investment, productivity, disruption and competition to get income by delivering value to employers, consumers and the public interest. And taught them nothing of the essential role of property rights in providing all human wellbeing.

Thus, they wouldn’t know that the real causes of unaffordable housing and so many other California problems are the entitlements, land-use and related regulations, high taxes and transfer payments, green dogma, etc. fostered by the politics of them and their advocates.

But what’s the excuse for AP writers and editors and mainstream media generally?

They should recognize the slimy ethical and vacuous intellectual basis of these claims do not merit coverage. They should be researching and producing stories that educate more people on how the world really works and the problems caused by progressive policies.

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Ron Knecht is a contributing editor to the Penny Press - the conservative weekly "voice of Nevada." His views and opinions are his own. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column which has been reprinted with permission.

It was reported by Fox News' Tucker Carlson that 18 Republican governors have explicitly requested that more refugees be sent to their states. They said that it was “compassion” and “Christian charity” to do so. The questions were asked, "have their constituents demanded this?" The reply was "No." So, what's going on here?

Guest Ned Ryan responded: Refugee resettlement has nothing to do with Christianity and has everything to do with the immoral behavior of these governors and quite frankly a perverse incentive for these government funded charities that are acting as refugee contractors grifting (swindling) off the American taxpayers.

However, the US State Department is paying these refugee contractors over $2,100 per refugee, of which they get to keep 45%, and then they're doing this campaign on these governors saying you have to put your Christian charity into action through an act of cowardice.

Take note: This is the same government that has sanctioned the murder of innocent babies in the womb (Deuteronomy 19:10; Proverbs 6:17).This has nothing to do with the safety of Americans, it has everything to do with selling the American people out to foreigners in giving them our land. There are over 10 million illegals in America today.

What is even more disturbing is that the number of Mosques in the United States has jumped up to 74% since September 11, 2001.

The US survey 2011 counted a total of 2,106 as compared to 1,209 in the year 2000.

Americans, you are being sold out by your said representatives because you have sold out your God (Jeremiah 16:10-14).

Friends, this is not a foreign people doing this to you and your posterity. This is corrupt representatives of the United States government committing treason against you (Luke 22:48).

Treason is the only crime specifically defined in the Constitution.

According to Article III, Section 3, a person is guilty of treason if he or she goes to war against the United States or gives “aid or comfort” to an enemy (Deuteronomy 28:43).

Americans have known and have yet refused to take responsibility for the actions of their said representatives because Americans have failed to repent before the Lord. It takes more than "voting them out" (Read Article 2, Section 4, US Constitution). They work for you and they will act accordingly, if you are good, the government will be good. If you fail to lawfully react, they will continue to act lawlessly (1 Timothy 6:12), and so they are.

Former slave and abolitionist Fredrick Douglas, who knew best when he said:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both.”

To What Does This Come Down?

Your sins are finding you out (Numbers 23:32).

“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.

The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearken not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.

If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord Thy God; Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God. And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you." -Deuteronomy 28:15, 36, 43-45, 49-52, 58-68

If repentance toward God is not immediately addressed, and remain in your sins (Exodus 20; Acts 20:21; Galatians 3:24),then it should come as no surprise when you find your government continuously selling you out only to be devoured by them that mean to conquer. This is Bible and it is history America.

For example: Americans have been convinced by the same government that it is somehow a right to kill, which the Lord condemns, an innocent, unborn child in the womb by a woman/man with knives, only to have the flood gates opened to those who mean to kill you with knives (Matthew 5:45). Then you discover the ones opening up those gates to those who mean to kill you are also attempting to strip you of your rights to defend yourselves against such people.

This is why it is of the utmost importance to deal with corruption: First, before God (Acts 20:21) in repentance of our sins, transgressing God’s law (1 John 3:4), and then bearing the fruits of repentance wrought in you by the Holy Ghost (2 Corinthians 7:10, Galatians 3:24), which drives us to Christ where the Law can do no more (Hebrews 12:2). Then you will take vengeance upon corruption “and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:6)

But not until then.

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Bradlee Dean is a guest contributor to GCN news. His views and opinions are his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the Genesis Communication Network.Bradlee's radio program,The Sons of Liberty,broadcasts live M - Sat here at GCN. This is an edited version of an op-ed originally published by Sons of Liberty Media at www.sonsoflibertyradio.com. Reprinted with permission.

But, being a baby boomer, I received the full Sunday School treatment from my parents and got, in those 10 years, what would probably be today an advanced degree in Judaism and the history of the Jews.

And I got from my late Father, a World War II Navy veteran, a firm connection to one of the darkest periods of our modern world’s history.

Additionally, I met a distant cousin who the Allies liberated from Auschwitz and, subsequently, moved to the United States.

The impact on a young boy of seeing a serial number tattooed on a forearm cannot be underestimated.

For those of you Jews who have no real connection to World War Two and the Holocaust, you are making a huge mistake by merely assuming it could never happen again and certainly not in the United States.

Understand this:

The Holocaust was NOT played out on a Hollywood sound stage. If you think it was, you are even dumber than the Germans who allowed it to happen. It happened.

The First Amendment is a beautiful thing. But what keeps us safe from the excesses of the First Amendment is the Second. And who wants to take away our guns? Germany didn’t have a Second Amendment and the first thing Hitler did when he came to power is to remove private gun ownership but thankfully, here in America, we are pretty well armed.

West of the Hudson River, East of the Los Angeles County line and South of the Cook County line is a whole nation which is totally unwilling to give up our second Amendment rights.

And, I’m guessing that most of Israel’s support comes from that same large area.

Israel was established with the concept that Jews should have a homeland where another Holocaust could NEVER happen. They became fierce warriors to insure that.

For some reason, the farther people get from an event like the Holocaust the less they are concerned with the consequences.

As for Iranian retaliation, that’s what happens when a Little League team takes on the Yankees. The truth is that one button levels Tehran. Another can level the Quds force.

And that’s before Israel gets involved.

Iran has plenty of American blood on its hands. It seems only fair to make it pay.

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Fred Weinberg is a guest columnist and the CEO of USA Radio Network. His views and opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GCN. Fred's weekly column can be read all over the internet. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column, reprinted with permission.

I got a lot of phone calls last week from the many people who have one of my numbers, not about the content but about the word I used to describe the House Democrats. Retards.

Frankly, it was the only printable term I could think of at the time.

I certainly mean no disrespect to those who have, what we call today, learning disabilities. Even the thought of comparing any of those folks to the vast majority of House Democrats—who are just plain stupid and unpatriotic—places an innocent person with a low intelligence quotient in a bad light and I certainly don’t wish for that. You see, a person with learning disabilities, a low IQ and other issues can usually go on to live a good life and become a productive member of society. They just have to work at it. And many—if not most—of them do.

Not so much for the House Democrats who participated in the impeachment scam.

They and their faux leader are just plain stupid. As we say in rural America, dumb as a box of rocks. Also, mean.

Want to know how stupid?

Let’s take Tom Steyer from the billionaire left wing.

Here’s a guy who is real proud of his business experience as long as he doesn’t specifically tell the lefties whose vote he is courting exactly what that experience is. The truth is he got rich the same way a lot of people do—private equity and hedge fund management. You know those private prisons which ICE uses. His funds invested early.

Yet he calls President Trump, who got rich building things, a “criminal in the White House”.

Seriously?

Also, he says that climate change is the biggest problem we’re facing.

As Kellyanne Conway would say, that’s a load of crap. To put it in the words of the late George Carlin, “The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles … hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages … And we think some plastic bags and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet isn’t going anywhere. WE are!”

But people will get rich on the hysteria. And guys like Steyer think that’s enough to get them elected President.

Then, take Joe Biden.

When he was Vice President to Barack Obama, his portfolio included the Ukraine. Yet he doesn’t understand why his neer’do well son, Hunter, suddenly popping up with a huge paying job with a suspicious Ukrainian gas company raises any red flags at all.

What a schumck.

Where do these people come from?

Well, trust me, it’s NOT like they are inspired by the concept of public service. Many if not most of them simply look down on their fellow Americans. They are under the misapprehension that we are too stupid to live our lives without their divine intercession. They also like the money and the notoriety.

That’s where the Adam Schiffs, the Eric Swalwells and, God help us, the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ come from and they will decide they have what it take to be the top dog soon. (Swalwell already has.)

What can America do?

To quote Nancy Reagan, “just say no”. These folks may be worse than street drugs. And the media will drop them like a hot rock if they lose a few elections. The media may have its favorites, but at the end of the day, it’s a business. No ratings, no money goodbye AOC and friends.

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Fred Weinberg is a guest columnist and the CEO of USA Radio Network. His views and opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GCN. Fred's weekly column can be read all over the internet. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column, reprinted with permission.

Oh, how many times I have preached that the Lord is going to get our attention one way or another and, boy oh boy, is He doing just that. His message is clear: If you want to remain free then you are going to have to fight for your freedoms (1 Timothy 6:12). After all, the history of the Church is that the Lord is willing to give the Church what it is willing to fight for, no doubt.

Tyrants know what happens when we do not keep the Lord's commandments in keeping with His justice (Isaiah 51:4), and that is that tyranny rises as freedoms die. In fact, tyrants are encouraged by the apathetic (Matthew 13:25). They are encouraged by the tolerant in committing transgressions (1 John 3:4). That is exactly what we have seen in this country for far too long.

How many profess to be the Lord's in this country who refuse to obey Him in keeping His commandments (1 John 2:4)? It is astounding! The biblical illiterates have trained the goats well.

History teaches us that you can only oppress a people for so long before their oppressors get a response. Our forefathers, are a prime example of just that, There will always be a small number of those who will obey the Lord and resist the tyrants (Romans 12:21).

Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to William S. Smith, a diplomatic official in London, on November 13, 1787, “God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion.” Jefferson remarked The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”

He was not only talking of a foreign enemy that would commit such infidelity, treachery and treason without, but about those who would commit such infidelity treachery and treason within (Luke 22:48).

When looking at the example that our forefathers left us, that is when it came to their examples, we need to look no further than the Declaration of Independence. We can find that 75% of that documentation is our forefathers throwing off the tyrant across the pond who would not be ruled by God to keep men free (2 Corinthians 3:17). The sort of tyrants that Americans are now finding in their own midst.

“Things are getting really bad in Virginia. But this group isn’t going down without a fight. Virginia – Monday morning, Law Enforcement Today reported on how Tazewell County, Virginia is crafting a militia to defend the Constitution in the state. And within hours, we were flooded with thousands of emails from people across the state – police officers, veterans, and patriotic Americans – who said they are joining.

And it’s a movement that’s gaining traction across the state. Wrote one man:

“I am Vietnam vet, ex-police, retired and am behind your ideas 100% , anything I can do I would like to help.

I live in Franklin County, which voted down being a sanctuary city being the council is Democratic, a moonshine county giving up their guns is dumb.

The South gave up their flag, their statues and now they want their guns, sounds like Hitler’s Germany.”

Wrote another:

“There had already been rumblings locally about a militia being formed last month. We started carefully and quietly assembling patriotic Americans who are prepared to defend freedom at all costs.

In the past day those numbers have swelled. We have a very strong military presence here – more veterans and both active and retired LE than you can count. As of this evening, we’re talking about thousands of people that have expressed an interest in being a part of this movement.”

Last week, we reported on how lawmakers over in Virginia were threatening to use the National Guard if members of local law enforcement refuses to enforce laws passed in the state that they felt violated the Second amendment."

Think about what this tyrant Ralph Northam and his subordinates are suggesting. They are threatening to use the National Guard against law-abiding gun owners. Who is the National Guard? Our grandfathers, our fathers, our uncles, our cousins, our brothers, our neighbors, and friends. Friends, this precipitates a civil war (Psalm 9:17).

This is the importance of knowing the US Constitution and upholding its enumerated Laws (Article 6, Section 2).

This is a clear and present danger as it is a true revelation and exhibition of what tyranny looks and acts like (Matthew 7:16). And it is happening in America today.

Notice they also want to, by force, push the police into acting in an unconstitutional manner as they are acting. This is tyranny. It is our duty to lawfully throw it off (Romans 12:21).

“To disarm the people…[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them.” – George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788

That’s what sparked things in Tazewell County, which has said it isn’t going down without a fight.

On top of calling themselves a Second Amendment Sanctuary County, they’re also crafting a militia, as well. The Virginia county has taken the movement that has swept across the state and added an element that is sure to trigger pro-gun-grabbing politicians in the state.

Who is the militia?

“I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers.” – George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788

“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country.” – James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789

“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.”

– Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788

“What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty …. Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins.”

“Our position is that Article I, Section 13, of the Constitution of Virginia reserves the right to ‘order’ militia to the localities. Therefore, counties, not the state, determine what types of arms may be carried in their territory and by whom. So, we are ‘ordering’ the militia by making sure everyone can own a weapon.”

Thus, if anyone from the state tries to remove the sheriff from their elected office because they refuse to enforce unjust laws, those state officials will be faced with a lawful militia composed of citizens within the state.

The county is taking their militia element very seriously as the new ordinance calls for concealed weapons training for any resident of the county that can lawfully own a gun.

Another couple sent in this message late Monday to LET:

“…my husband and I are die hard 2nd Amendment defenders, and if they want our guns they will have to kill us to get them, but I guarantee that they will not come out of that battle unscathed!!!

We are both disabled but we would be ready and more than willing to fight side by side with all of our like minded brothers and sisters.

We are from West “by God” Virginia and we tell everyone who cares to ask what we think about guns and the 2nd Amendment, that we were born with a gun in our hand and will probably die the same way! Guns don’t kill people, at least not without a trigger person, it is usually by a deranged person or a gang member or a person in the act of robbery or drug running, kidnapping etc.

And usually committed with an illegally purchased or non registered weapon, the leftist, dictator, communistic socialist ‘ idiots need to realize that if they take away legal gun owners weapons , who have been trained to properly handle a weapon, they might as well open the doors and announce to the criminals to come get what they want because the criminals will be the ONLY ones to have a gun which was obtained from the black market.”

The county has also called for schools to adopt firearms safety training programs. Considering the blue wave that hit the state, along with Bloomberg pouring in millions toward the election, this is a massive win that shows gun owners aren’t going to lie down.

Americans, be encouraged and let their cruelties swell our ranks because they are.

Knowing what is unfolding in Virginia and how it is that they are responding to tyrants makes one proud to be an American (Psalm 33:12).

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Bradlee Dean is a guest contributor to GCN news. His views and opinions are his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the Genesis Communication Network.Bradlee's radio program,The Sons of Liberty,broadcasts live M - Sat here at GCN. This is an edited version of an op-ed originally published by Sons of Liberty Media at www.sonsoflibertyradio.com. Reprinted with permission.

When I was seven, I got a cowboy hat and dual-holster gun belt, plus twin cap pistols for Christmas. That’s what little boys were into in the mid-1950s. My uncle challenged me to quick draw contests and won every one. There may be a life lesson there, but I’m not sure what it is.

Three years later, my brother and I got matching red bicycles with 26-inch wheels. That opened up many new experiences to us – whole new worlds, in fact. Bikes are a blessing to children and adults.

Two years on, in seventh grade I welcomed the modern era, high tech and access to music with a top-end transistor radio the size of a pack of regular cigarettes. In 1961, the cigarette reference was cool to boy of twelve. So, it didn’t matter that I got nothing else that Christmas because that item was all we could afford.

As these anecdotes illustrate, to children Christmas is much about receiving gifts. That’s not a bad thing, for it brings them joy and the gifts sometimes open up great new experiences for them. As well as showing them the love their parents and others feel for them.

In the next few years, I remember the three TV stations – yes, there were only three then, even in markets like St. Louis – broadcasting keep Christ in Christmas ads and even a program on the subject. Imagine that! Today, thanks to snowflakes and progressives, those stations may wish you happy holidays, but dare not utter the word “Christmas” in any approving way.

In the mid-70s, I recall driving my MGB on Christmas Eves from Urbana to Belleville, each time assessing the year passed and what progress I was making professionally and personally. Some of those years, I took my sister’s horse out for a bracing Christmas morning ride in an inch or two of snow along country roads and across fields.

Also, I sent Christmas poinsettias to my girlfriend in Atlanta. She said Christmas didn’t really begin until they arrived. When I flew to visit her, the tradition of traveling at Christmas took root.

In the 1976 movie Nashville, the presidential candidate asked college students offbeat questions like: “Does the smell of oranges remind you of Christmas morning?” It does for me, because our mother always prepared each of us a stocking with nuts, chocolates, other treats and a large apple and orange. And she fixed eggnog. Today, my sainted wife Kathy continues this tradition in our family.

In the 1980s, when I became a yuppie in San Francisco’s Marina District, Christmas was often about ski trips. The slopes were delightfully uncrowded on Christmas day and we were blessed often with blue skies, bright sun and great snow.

In the 1990s, I secured a center box each year for the San Francisco Ballet’s annual performance of The Nutcracker. I prepared a feast for eight at my apartment and then we left for the ballet. Until I left the Bay Area in 2001, that event was the official beginning of Christmas.

By then, Christmas was about a season, experiences with friends and family, and giving – not receiving. People become difficult to buy for as they get older. Moreover, the satisfaction of giving and seeing the happiness in the faces of others beats receiving.

After Kathy and I married and moved to Carson City, for a while we had a tradition of Christmas Eve here and Christmas morning flights – Kathy, our Awesome daughter Karyn, Kathy’s mom (the best mom-in-law ever) and I – to Belleville for time with my family. Both sides of my family always made me the luckiest boy in town.

Because we could no longer attend the SF Ballet, our new start of Christmas became the annual dinner at our home and showing of It’s A Wonderful Life. That film is quite spiritual, of course. It’s about salvation and also reminds us that one of the beauties of Christianity is that it’s a religion of forgiveness, not harsh justice. And about choice, not domination.

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Ron Knecht is a contributing editor to the Penny Press - the conservative weekly "voice of Nevada." His views and opinions are his own. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column which has been reprinted with permission.

Before I get into how I think We the People of America should view the perverted version of the Ed Sullivan (or the Jerry Springer, your choice) show in the House of Representatives, I want to give you an update from my subject of last week, the Kabbage company.

After my column appeared, I got a phone call from an executive there and they very graciously acknowledged my point, that as a lender to small business, America’s largest employer, when they make an adverse decision, human beings should be involved. Ultimately, they were operating on bad artificial intelligence and they fixed it.

That is the hallmark of how good business people operate. Consider that as you see what the Democrat majority in the House is trying to do to our first businessman President.

And, on that note, let’s talk about Jerry Nadler’s inquisition against the President.

Now, keep in mind, that Nadler’s House Judiciary Committee should have been the committee to pursue the “impeachment” investigation as opposed to Adam Schiff’s House “Intelligence” Committee.

Basically, the Democrats have been thwarted at every turn in their jihad against the President—whose only impeachable offense was to actually win the 2016 election and threaten the status quo of the permanent establishment—and this is just a continuation of their effort to get rid of a threat which has put the establishment of both parties on Defcon Two.

They think that this…businessman…may be the President but he’s certainly not really the …President…and he can’t really make his own foreign policy.

Folks, what it gets down to is that people like Schiff, Nadler and the diplocrats I mentioned above think we’re stupid. Just like Hillary Clinton did.

They think—and sometimes actually come out and say—that we simply cannot be entrusted with the election of a President. That’s why they want to get rid of the Electoral College—so our votes would mean nothing.

Fortunately, the Republicans control the Senate. And when this show gets to the Senate, it will be like a little league baseball team taking on the Yankees.

Since Watergate, we have always known that the impeachment process is completely political. But, even in the Clinton mess, at least there was a violation of the law, even though it was a mistake on the part of the Republicans to use it as a political cudgel. Lying about your sex life is no more an impeachable offense than having no respect for Nadler. Or Schiff.

If, as the President has said, impeachment is simply going to become a part of the tool box for the most vicious of the elements of both parties, then we need to give them the political scare of their lives—kind of like Boris Johnson just gave the Labour party in Britain.

There is a classic example of what happens when you use political tricks to ignore the will of the people. Three years ago, the people in Great Britain voted to get out of the European Union. The Parliament screwed around for three years. Finally, the people had enough and in the recent election gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson a massive majority with instructions to get-r-done as Larry the Cable Guy would say it.

If the morons I wrote of above keep it up here, what do you think might happen in November of 2020?

Fred Weinberg is a guest columnist and the CEO of USA Radio Network. His views and opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GCN. Fred's weekly column can be read all over the internet. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column, reprinted with permission.

Medicare for All (M4A) retained its prominent place on the stage at the latest Democratic debate. In its purest Bernie Sanders form, concurrent with abolishing private health insurance, U.S. residents would be enrolled in “Medicare.” The program would pay for unlimited “medically necessary” health expenses, including pharmaceuticals, mental health and substance abuse treatment, vision, dental, and hearing services, and long-term care with no out-of-pocket costs. Some supporters were scared off by the $32 trillion over 10 years price tag. Not to be outdone, Elizabeth Warren’s “I’m with Bernie” plan comes with a $52 trillion over 10 years price tag including up to $34 trillion in new government spending. Our country’s entire yearly budget is a mere $3.5 trillion. For perspective, if your salary is $40,000 per year it would take 25 million years to earn 1 trillion dollars. As M4A’s dark side emerged, the candidates distanced themselves from Bernie-care.

Elimination of private insurance? Whoa, Nellie! Over 156 million Americans —half the country—are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance plans and another 23 million have private individual policies. And most of these folks like that arrangement. Then there was pushback from some unions who had excellent health insurance policies for which they had bargained and given up other perks.

In the June debate the candidates raised their hands indicating they would abolish private health insurance. Now Mayor Buttigieg wants to “unify the American people around, creating a version of Medicare, making it available to anybody who wants it, but without the divisive step of ordering people onto it whether they want to or not.” Vice president Biden, noting his desire to keep patient choice stated, “we should build on Obamacare … adding a Medicare option in that plan, and not make people choose.” Of course, Obamacare caused a rise in premiums, a decrease in choice of insurance coverage, and like any large government-run program was prone to mismanagement and waste.

Possible financing mechanisms were screaming for a deep dive. One analysis concluded that most Americans would suffer financially if M4A were implemented as proposed. An analysis by a bipartisan think tank estimated a 32 per cent increase in payroll taxes would be needed to fund M4A. Everyone—even the working poor—would have more payroll taxes extracted from their paycheck. The analysis concluded that most households would pay more in new taxes than they would save by eliminating their current spending on private health insurance and out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Senator Warren tries to hide the ugly truth by railing about the evil rich who would be taxed down to their underwear. Take the deceptively worded “2-cent” annual tax for households with more than $50 million in assets. If you have $51 million in assets, most probably tied up in your business, you’d have to cough up (.02)($1,000,000) or $20,000, not 2 cents. The devil’s spawn, aka our 535 billionaires, would be subject to a 6 percent annual tax on their assets. Who will be the next target when the government has driven the assets to a sunny island in the Caribbean? Finally, raising the corporate income tax back up to 35 percent likely would result in businesses paying lower wages to current employees or cutting back on hiring to compensate for the increased tax burden.

During the latest debate, Senator Warren retreated from her “all-in” approach, asserting she would first provide Medicare at no cost to “everybody under the age of 18, everybody who has a family of four income less than $50,000”—about 135 million people. Second, she would lower the Medicare age to 50 and expand Medicare coverage to include vision, dental, and long-term care. In the third year, “when people have had a chance to feel it and taste it and live with it, we’re going to vote and we’re going to want Medicare for all.”

Senator Sanders owns that payroll taxes would be doubled or tripled and proposes a 4 percent surtax on families earning more than $29,000. So if you earn $60,000, you’d have to pay (.04)($31,000) or $1,240, enough for a whole year’s membership in a private Direct Primary Care plan. Senator Sanders, staying true to his principles, is sticking with unadulterated Medicare for All with its financial warts.

Even those who are numb to government over-spending can see the broader problem of inviting Uncle Sam into their lives in exchange for a Medicare card in their wallet. Any remaining privacy is erased. Our medical records would be furnished to the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Physicians and patients would be robbed of their autonomy and choice by medical care policies set by the government monopoly. Lack of competition leads to lower quality and fewer services. Coverage becomes an illusion.

Medicare for All’s beauty is only skin deep and its ugly goes to the bone.

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Dr. Singleton is a board-certified anesthesiologist. She is Immediate Past President of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).Her opinions are her own. This is an edited column that originally appeared at www.pennypressnv.com, reprinted with permission.

For a long time, I have mostly written in this space about the ridiculous Democrats in the House who, tilting at left-wing partisan windmills, are heading in the direction of impeaching President Trump thus almost guaranteeing his re-election in 2020 since there is no chance the Senate will remove him.

This week, however, I have stumbled into an equally ridicules situation which has no relationship with what is currently happening in Washington but could have a serious impact on America’s largest employer—small business.

You may have seen some TV commercials for a non-bank lender named Kabbage. It features actor Gary Cole playing a spokesman from 10 minutes in the future talking to some small business people. After they get the funding they needed, Cole pops in as even further in the future after they got the Gundelfinger Account.

My company has used Kabbage for something like three years.

It’s not a huge credit line but we have made every payment on a timely basis and they have never had any problem with us.

On December 2, we made our normal monthly payment. A few days later, I checked to make sure it was recorded properly. It was. But there was a note on the app screen which said, “You are not currently eligible to take a loan. Call us at 88xx-xxxx to fix this issue.”

So I did.

What they told me was that there was a 60 day hold on our account, the computer makes these decisions and there is no appeal because they don’t know the reason that the computer made the decision.

I asked to speak to an executive who authorized the computer to make that decision.

“Sir,” said the young lady, “That team is not customer facing.”

Seriously?

Not customer facing?

Now I need to make two points here. Nobody is obligated to lend you money any more that anybody is obligated to borrow money. This is a business transaction. You lend me money and I pay it back with interest.

But good business practice dictates that if you make a decision like that—which, by the way, you have every right to make—you pick up the phone and FACE THE CUSTOMER! Maybe your precious computer got the wrong—or no—information.

Kabbage is part of a new group of financial institutions called fintech.

It’s the latest new thing.

They have a proprietary algorithm so they can evaluate risk and make loans fast.

That’s all well and good. And, as welcome as that may be to help fund America’s largest employer, a lender you cannot talk to is nobody you want to do business with.

Suppose, as an example, you are coming up on a payroll and are just a bit short—something which is not unusual in the wide world of small business. You know you have that available in your Kabbage line. Only, when you go to use it, there’s a note, placed there by a computer for a reason nobody knows that you cannot use the money. That’s the sort of thing that can break a small business.

What was point number two that I was going to make?

Only that I made it clear that I was not mad at the nice young customer facing lady. I was mad at her company and then only because information is as important as cash in small business and if Kabbage can’t tell you why, it’s very difficult to want to continue to do business with them—even after the 60 day hold is over. Resigning the Gundelfinger account is a real possibility.

Now, we can get back to politics. But I’ll bet that Kabbage CEO Rob Frohwein will see the logic in fixing this problem long before the Democrat morons in the House figure out that they are hamsters making the wheel go around. And I mean no insult to hamsters.

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Fred Weinberg is a guest columnist and the CEO of USA Radio Network. His views and opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GCN. Fred's weekly column can be read all over the internet. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column, reprinted with permission.

A minister's wife came up to me after seeing my due diligence in seeking out the Scriptures and said, "You're so heavenly-minded that you're no earthly good.”-Bradlee Dean

When I was first saved from my sins (Matthew 1:21) back in 1998, I remember how much the Lord had broken me down to nothing, and I mean nothing. A man of God once said that until a man becomes nothing, God will create nothing out of him (Isaiah 66:2; Psalm 34:18, 51:17). The Lord has definitely taken the time to show me this truth by showing me what I am not, by showing me who He is (Malachi 3:6).

During this breaking process, I also remember feeding on the Word day and night (John 6:35). For me, it was like King David when he said:

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” -Psalm 42:1-2

I'm also reminded in Matthew 5:6 where Jesus said: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

This is where I am after 21 years of working out my own salvation with fear and trembling and in studying to shew myself approved unto God (Philippians 2:12; 2 Timothy 2:15).

I did not want to have anything to do with the old man.

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” -Ephesians 4:22-24

This is what being born again means and looks like (John 3:3-5).

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” -Titus 3:5

We are new creatures in Christ.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” -2 Corinthians 5:17

I had new desires and my affections were set on Christ (Colossians 3:1). I wanted His will; and how was I to do that if I did not know His Word (John 7:17)?

Now, in the beginning process of growing in grace (2 Peter 3:18) and being rooted and built up in Him (Colossians 2:7), this minister's wife tells me that if I was so heavenly-minded that I would never be any earthly good. I almost fell out of my chair. The first thing that came to my mind was that if I am not heavenly-minded, how is it that His will can be done on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10)?

How was I supposed to give the answers to the world that they so desperately needed if I didn’t have them to give? (Matthew 10:8; 2 Timothy 2:6-7)

Furthermore, “our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Our conversation is to becometh the Gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).

For anyone one to say, I care not for whom it may be, that if we are so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good, it is one of the most backward, as well as, unscriptural things to say (Galatians 1:3-12).

The fact of the matter is if you are not heavenly-minded, you will be no earthly good!

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, the will of God.” -Romans 12:2

Bradlee Dean is a guest contributor to GCN news. His views and opinions are his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the Genesis Communication Network.Bradlee's radio program,The Sons of Liberty,broadcasts live M - Sat here at GCN. This is an edited version of an op-ed originally published by Sons of Liberty Media at www.sonsoflibertyradio.com. Reprinted with permission.

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You finally get your dream and are selected to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. You get to see Pat Sajak and Vanna White! You win a vacation to some country that you don’t really want to see. You cannot get the cash equivalent. You have to take 10 days off of work to take the free vacation you did not want. You discover that you have to pay the tax on the free vacation.

Or you win a free car. You have a perfectly functioning 3-year-old car. The free car was not really the car you would have selected. You accepted it because it was free. Then you see that you have to pay tax on the list price of the free car. You also discover that the collision insurance and Department of Motor Vehicles registration for the free car are significantly higher than for the car you currently own.

These are examples of why nothing is “free.” This applies to medical care as well. You may have to see the “health care provider” the government program or private insurer makes available to you. You don’t particularly want to see a nurse, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles with free health care. Oh well, you convince yourself that it’s okay because, just like that car on the game show, it was free.

Here’s a new spin on “free.” Yes, your medical care should be free – free from the restraints of government control. Free from the government rules that have raised the price of insurance premiums. The Affordable Care Act mandated ten essential benefits that all insurance plans must include free of out-of-pocket charges to patients. Of course, this does not include the initial out-of-pocket charge: the insurance premium. Insurance premiums shot up over the post-ACA year because the insurance plan has to cover conditions that the insured persons may not even encounter in their own lives. A glaring example is obstetrics coverage in a menopausal female. Preventive and wellness visits are also labelled as free.

Moreover, a recent AMA study revealed that over the last four years the competition in the commercial insurance market has decreased. In over 50 percent of metropolitan areas, representing about 73 million persons, one insurer has half of the market. The more concentrated the market, the higher the premiums.

Remember that free car? We all know and readily accept that car insurance does not pay for the gas and basic maintenance. So why should maintenance medical care be covered by insurance? Car insurance would be unaffordable for most car owners if it paid for gas, oil changes, new mufflers, radios, and batteries. Most states require drivers to have car insurance. If people can’t afford the insurance, they lose the benefit of owning a car.

Similarly, if you lose your health due to long waits or delayed diagnosis because the CT scan was not authorized or poor medication response because you had to take the formulary drug that was not the doctor’s first drug choice for you, the care is not free, but very costly.

The underlying message of free “health care” is disempowering. The message is that we are incapable of taking care of ourselves. Empowerment is having control over our own lives. First, we take charge of our own health by thinking about the choices we make. We choose to not smoke, overindulge in food or drink, or engage in foolhardy behaviors. Second, we decide what is important for our own health. If you do not want insurance coverage for obstetrics or fertility treatment because you are 50 years old and do not want children, there should be a less expensive insurance product available to you. Third, we need to be free to choose our own doctor as well as the treatment the doctor—not the invisible third-party payer—recommends.

The promised free health care would increase the payroll taxes on all workers, even if that worker does not want that particular brand of free medical care. The next time you hear that medical care is free, just think about that “free” car that is the wrong color, is too small, has uncomfortable seats, inadequate headroom, and overall is not what you really want.

Dr. Singleton is a board-certified anesthesiologist. She is Immediate Past President of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).Her opinions are her own. This is an edited column that originally appeared at www.pennypressnv.com, reprinted with permission.

When I was Nevada controller, my deputy James Smack had an inspired idea.

On the Transparent Nevada web site of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, he searched pay levels of state employees with “controller” in their job titles. After eliminating air traffic controllers, he found he was ninth and I was tenth.

We knew his pay was higher than mine because our salaries were dictated by statute. What was surprising was that eight state employees with a controller job title made more than us. They were all employed in the colleges, universities and Desert Research Institute.

This illustrated that non-academic pay in Nevada higher education is above market levels, as we already knew. Full-time academic pay is also high because it competes with only the bloated levels at other colleges. Throughout academe, full-time faculty and administrative compensation is very high, while that for part-time (adjunct) faculty is very low.

I don’t raise this matter to complain that our pay was too low. Even if it should be higher, no one forced me to run or James to take his job.

However, Nevada local government pay, especially in the two large counties and in public safety, is unduly high due to very powerful unions. In higher education, the problem is the board of regents is as weak as local governments. Thus, costs – and taxes – continue to rise due to ever-increasing staffing, especially in administrative areas, and very high compensation.

Total compensation for Nevada state employees is closer to private market levels and in the mid-range for state employees around the country.

Now, however, state employees can bargain collectively for compensation. So, we can expect their compensation and staffing levels to soar too – unless governor Steve Sisolak and his successors make good use of their statutory power to restrain the results of collective bargaining. I commend my former regent colleague the Governor for insisting that a gubernatorial veto be included in the legislation allowing state employee collective bargaining.

I also commend his two other recent thoughtful actions on related fronts. First, reining in the excesses, overreach and illegal actions of state boards and commissions, especially those regulating occupations. Second, taking on the use by such agencies and others of outside lobbyists to get more funding from the legislature, often contrary to the governor’s proposed budget and usually at very high fees. (They also spend too much staff time lobbying an d on public relations.)

All these costs contribute to raising our taxes.

And to making state government ever more opaque and less accountable.

Government at state and local levels, just as much as the federal government, has shifted from limited and enumerated powers, spending restraint, and resulting accountability to unlimited powers, wanton spending and tax increases, and an uncontrollable administrative state.

While state and local governments may not yet have developed the really sinister Deep State “intelligence,” spying and police powers now being exposed in Washington, they are working on creating such a nationwide swamp with extensive police powers.

None of this should be surprising, because it’s all in the nature of government and public employee unions.

The people who run and staff public agencies, just like those in the private sector, want more pay, power, perks and prestige. And less work for each of them to do, less accountability and fewer restraints on their actions and prerogatives. They’re only human.

This leads them to seek ever higher pay rates and benefits, more people to work with and for them, and higher expenses and capital budgets. And especially less accountability to voters, taxpayers, governors and legislatures.

People in the private sector have the same instincts. This isn’t a matter of better or lesser folks in either sector.

The difference is that in the private sector there are inherent restraints, especially on spending, pay and staffing levels. Businesses can’t just raise their prices willy-nilly, as governments do taxes, because they’ll lose sales, customers and revenues. And their powers are restrained by law and government.

That’s why, in general, the private sector works better than government, which keeps metastasizing and burdening us further. Government and public employee unions are, by their very natures, predatory upon the public, interest and taxpayers. And little restrained.

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Ron Knecht is a contributing editor to the Penny Press - the conservative weekly "voice of Nevada." You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column which has been reprinted with permission.

We haven’t yet gotten to the Democrat politicos running for the Democrat nomination. (Triple A)

There, you have one billionaire (Tom Steyer) who called Trump a “failure” in a TV spot he’s paying for himself, hopefully to get past 1 percent.

Then you have another billionaire, a former New York Mayor who just “apologized” for the stop and frisk policy he inherited from his predecessor—Trump’s personal lawyer—but cannot otherwise explain the dramatic drop in violent crime during his term.

If you look at just the list above, there are some common threads.

First are the overstuffed Hollywood types—some of whom I’ve only briefly heard of—who just know so much about politics that we should be overwhelmed by their intelligence quotients. Then we have the writers and TV personalities who fall into the category of “pundits”. They are trying to make a living by badmouthing the President. And, finally, we have the politicians who are green with envy. They should have his political skills.

Why do they hate this guy so much?

Well, he stands for the concept that this is the United States of America, as my father used to say, and any little boy or girl can grow up to be President or accomplish anything they want to accomplish by simply putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward.

Contrary to what the clowns on the list above would have you believe, Donald Trump is not successful because his father was rich. In fact, he went against the wishes of his father when he went into Manhattan real estate.

He’s successful because he took some giant risks.

Not everything he did worked.

His experience in Atlantic City as an example. Hillary Clinton famously asked in a debate, “I mean, ask yourself, how can anybody lose money running a casino? Really.”

Of course, she demonstrated her ignorance of that business because she asked that question without knowing that one of the two largest casino companies in the nation, Harrahs, was almost two years into Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. That’s right, the company now known as Caesars Entertainment because, yes, it happened to own Caesars Palace in both Las Vegas AND Atlantic City.

Caesars today operates approximately 47 casinos in 13 U.S. states and five countries, including the Caesars, Harrah’s, Horseshoe and Bally’s brands. When stupid people ask stupid rhetorical questions, they often get they asses handed to them.

I mean, ask yourself, how can you take any of the clowns I have listed above seriously?

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Fred Weinberg is a guest columnist and the CEO of USA Radio Network. His views and opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GCN. Fred's weekly column can be read all over the internet. You can subscribe at www.pennypressnv.com. This is an edited version of his column, reprinted with permission.

The fastest growing addiction in the US is online shopping. Ads pop up on our social media, news feeds and email. Boxes pile up in your closet of unopened packages. And then one day you notice you purchased the same item twice! Are you addicted to online shopping or any shopping for that matter? Let’s break down this latest epidemic.

What is Compulsive Spending Disorder?

A “Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD)” was first described in the early 20th century as a compulsive disorder that left the patient with debt. Later in the century its classification was debated and eventually included with the personality disorders.

Compulsive buying is known as “oniomania” where one buys impulsively and excessively to the point that it leaves them in financial hardship. And despite their financial issues they continue to make purchases. We’ve used the term “shopaholics” to describe those addicted to shopping but compulsive buying connotes the lack sense of financial ruin that can ensue. The spending is an attempt to satisfy a need that never gets fulfilled.

Compulsive buying disorder may be seen in those who suffer from mania and bipolar disorder. During manic episodes excessive spending may occur. Additionally we may see CBD co-morbidly in those who suffer from eating, gambling, substance use, and mood disorders.

What is Compulsive Online Shopping?

Compulsive online shopping occurs when purchases are made online, without much thought or planning, and at a frequency where it may interfere with one’s life. People who might have never become a compulsive shopper in a traditional store may become easily addicted to online shopping. Those who are compulsive online shoppers may exhibit any of the following:

Preoccupation with when they can go online to search items

Anxiety when one cannot go online

Purchasing items they don’t necessarily need

Spending beyond their budget

Hiding their shopping behavior

Feeling guilt after shopping

Struggling at work or at home because of the time devoted to online shopping

Other addictive or impulsive behaviors such as binge eating, drinking, or substance abuse

So compulsive online shopping, as well as compulsive buying disorder, can affect relationships, employment, finances and health.

How many people suffer from Compulsive Online Shopping Disorder?

Various sources have put the range at 5-8% of the US population.

Why are people becoming addicted?

When one is able to shop from the comfort of one’s desk or work station, the “ease” factor drives more shopping. Avoiding the need to leave work or home to battle traffic and weather and long lines, is one of the biggest draws. Moreover, those who hate going into a store or dressing room, concerned others will see the sizes of clothes they are trying on, can now shop in the privacy in their own home. Additionally shopping allows one to fight the boredom they have at work or home and give one a sense of accomplishment. And once one has a successful and satisfying purchase, the reward centers of the brain are activated making one want to shop more.

Hence, shrewd marketing will appeal to the human psyche by any of the following:

Displaying or popping up attractive ads on your browser or social media

“Rewarding” the buyer with positive feedback after the purchase such as, “You SAVED 15%!”

Allowing the purchase to be done so quickly and easily that one has less of an opportunity to ponder the purchase

Sending reminders of a reorder

So how can one avoid becoming a compulsive online shopper?

Don’t give in to the ads. People must realize they are being bombarded with some of the most creative marketing manipulation known to mankind. We can’t fall for it. Why are we letting our smart devices dictate to us what we need in our closets, pantries or garages?

But to fight the urge to shop online excessively, we must:

Budget expenditures and stick to it

Have hobbies

Avoid boredom, or going to the internet when bored

Limit internet time

Stop ads and unsubscribe on out tablet or smart phone

Deputize a family member to be our go-to when we want authorization to purchase something online.

Ask ourselves prior to purchasing: Do I really need this item?

Seek counseling if unable to stop

If needed, compulsive shopping can be treated with therapy as well as medications including SSRI’s, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are efficacious in those with impulsive personalities or obsessive-compulsive disorder.